Some parents and students struggling with remote learning

As schools citywide are slated for closure for the remainder of the academic year, some parents are struggling with mandated remote learning––with many not even having the proper tools to help students.

Now that remote learning by electronic means is the new normal for public schools, parents hope that their children won’t be left behind. Many are speaking out to say that the school system didn’t give them the proper tools or time to prepare for remote learning.

Reports indicate that some families hit a major roadblock when internet service providers, including Altice and Spectrum, blocked some households from getting internet access because of unpaid bills. This contradicted the company’s’ plans to allow households free internet service for 60 days. Once publicity hit, companies immediately turned the service back on.

“That really pisses me off, to tell you the truth, that any provider in the middle of a crisis like this would deprive a child and their family of the chance for that child to continue their education,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the time. “I’m going to instruct my team to go back to the providers and be very clear about the fact that we find it unacceptable.”

However, with internet service back on, advocates say that remote learning has exposed many of the large-scale inequities that parents and communities have been talking about for years.

“The closing of NYC public schools without a comprehensive plan has left many students and families in crisis,” Nataha Capers of the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice said. “We are entering week two of ‘distance learning’ with tens of thousands of students without adequate devices or internet services to complete assignments, a teaching force that is inexperienced with providing online instruction, lack of services for students with special needs, and no comprehensive support for multi-lingual students and their families.”

Capers’ organization is calling for several things that the city’s Department of Education needs to do including the creation of a hotline for parents and families that can serve as technical assistance and a COVID-19 Community Task Force that would assist in making policy decisions such as promotion, improving distance learning, supports and communication for families.

She also wants Regent exams cancelled and for students to move onto the next grade level.

“All students should move onto the next grade and all seniors should be allowed to graduate, including students who are overage and under-credited, due to the enormous inequities in quality and access to schoolwork,” Capers said.

A spokesperson from the DOE said in statement that the preparation for and execution of remote learning was throughouly looked at and inlcusive.

“We’ve taken into account students without devices, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners, and worked with schools to ensure we’re getting our students, staff and families the resources they need,” the DOE said.” In addition to our website and school-based communication, the City’s 311 line is fully language accessible and acts as a hotline for families, providing relevant information on remote learning, Regional Enrichment Centers, and meal hubs, and when needed can connect families to P311, the DOE’s parent hotline. Parent and community feedback is a core part of our work in this ever-changing landscape, and we are gathering it remotely through webinars and phone conferences, and we thank CEJ for their recommendations.”